They grow too fast...

I realized just now that I never posted a link to our last Vada video. This was the Week 11 video. I think most of you saw it, but if not you'll see it at the end of this post...along with the 12-13 week video! I'm still working on being more diligent about posting here, please bear with me! =D

It's been over a month since we came to visit...boy how time flies. Since we got back home, Vada's been hitting all kinds of milestones. It's really amazing to watch.

She started teething a couple of weeks ago, which means that now she's got a little drool factory installed in her mouth. We never had bibs on that girl until she started teething, and now we go through 4 to 5 every day! It's pretty crazy how much drool comes out of such a little mouth. Despite this, she's been really well-behaved. I was expecting to be completely miserable just because she was going to be so miserable, but we've gotten lucky. She has been sleeping just fine and so far hasn't had too many sad days.

She has also been working on finding her hands and getting more control over them in the past week or so. The first time she consciously grabbed something was in the bath last week. I was pouring water on her belly out of a little green pitcher. She was focusing all of her energy into reaching the spout on that pitcher with her left hand. She reached out and grabbed it with her little fingers and Cindy and I just looked at each other in awe thinking "Did she really just do that?!" Since that moment we've been trying to get her to grab all sorts of stuff, and she's getting really good at it now. I think she has total control over her left hand so far, and is getting better with her right hand every day. We might have a little southpaw in our midst!

One other big thing she's doing lately is trying out new noises. She's been experimenting with the high-pitched squeal recently, and I fear for my ear drums. She's got quite the range! Be thankful we haven't been able to capture that one on video yet ;)

Speaking of video, the new one is going to show off the past couple of weeks. We've been having a hard time remembering the camera lately, but we'll get back on the ball, I promise! You'll be able to see how good she's getting with her hands, and her ability to focus on things. I think Mom also snuck a clip of her and I playing WoW together in there somewhere =p She likes watching the other people run around the city, and in and out of the Auction House where I spend most of my time lately. The older video shows off some of her first giggles...we both cried like wee lasses the first time we got to hear that beautiful noise. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

I've been doing this 10-hour shift thing at work for over a month now and I think I've gotten pretty well used to it at this point. I really miss out on lots of time with her during the week, but I enjoy having the nice long weekends with her. I'm still working out whether or not it's worth missing the extra couple of hours on the rest of the days. It's also really hard to go back to work after that 4-day weekend. I think I'll stick with it for awhile, but I'm considering going for either a 3-day weekend every weekend, or maybe just going back to 8 hour days and going in earlier...what do you guys think? Leave me a comment to read! Just click on that link at the end of the post marked as "(X) comments" to get started with that. "X" will just show how many comments other people have left so far.

Cindy's finally been able to get back into knitting again! Vada is now cool with just sitting next to her or in her lap while Cindy knits. Cindy Claus is hard at work making some really neat Christmas gifts for folks, and she's also been working on some cute socks/leggings for Vada to wear as it gets colder down here. Apparently I'll be getting a new hat as well. This time with ear flaps so I don't lose my ears while riding in to work!



I'm not sure if I'll have the tassels or not, how do you feel about them?

Also a quick mention for everyone -- we'll be coming home for Christmas this year! I should be able to get almost a whole two weeks off from work, and we'll be up in da U.P. the whole time. I can't wait to spend time with all of you. Being away last Christmas was terribly depressing for both of us. I think we'll avoid that from now on =D

Love you all!

New video!

Long time no write

Sorry guys, I haven't written in a while. I've been SO TIRED lately. Vada has had a pretty messed up sleep schedule, and I've been getting up with her a bit more than usual. That and the fact that this girl will not nap during the day. So no naps for me. Boo.

So I was trying to think of fun things that we could do as a family that would either be low cost or free. I decided to look into geocaching. That is when you get a list of clues, decipher them, and find a cache. It could contain items for trade, little surprises, or just a list where you write down that you found it. The clues are always coordinates. So the one we did today had 4 stages, the first was this:

Stage 1: “Ocean of Life”
Located at N42 44.824 W084 32.799
You may able to answer few questions from inside of your vehicle.

Complete the following equations and convert the letters to the number they are in the alphabet, (i.e.: a-1, b-2 up to z-26)

A = How many clown fish in the mural
B = Sum of the value of the letters in who did paint mural?
C = (A + B)

Coordinates for Part 2: N42 44.(A x 430) W84 32. (A + 4.5)*C

So once we got the new coordinates, we went there. And so on. It finally led us to a small film canister stuck in a tree that had a list to write down your name and the date that you found it. It was a lot of fun and took some team work. It was also in Old Town, which is an awesome part of Lansing that is getting redone. There are a bunch of art galleries and interesting shops over there. Once we were done with the cache, we stopped in a few. We got a ton of comments on Vada, who was rocking an adorable pony tail and polka-dot onsie.

The busy day really took it out of her, and she was ready for bed at 7:30. She's been asleep in her crib now for about an hour (it's almost 9:30pm). I'll be hitting the hay here pretty soon, I need to catch up on my sleep!

Hopefully Chris will write an entry in here sometime, I'm sure you're all looking forward to hearing from him again (I know I am, I'd like to be able to READ an entry instead of always writing them, hehe!) That's it for me, hope you're all well! I'll be editing the new vlog tomorrow. It's going to be short, but we hope everyone will still like it! Love you all!

Just for giggles, here is Vada yesterday with her pony tail in, and her after we took it out. What a stinkin' cutie!

Sorry for not posting in such a long time, everyone! We went home from August 25th to the 30th. We "snuck" home a day early, with only my mom and Jessica knowing about it. Unfortunately, our car broke down at the Seney rest stop! My mom made it pretty far out to come help us, but we ended up getting help from an auto shop guy who was near us. Thankfully, the car was fixed up and we were back on the road. Big thanks to my mom and dad for helping us out with that, it was a huge relief to be able to get back into town!

Vada did great on the ride home. She would only fuss when she was hungry and needed a clean diaper (I'm also glad to say we went the whole trip using our cloth diapers, no 'sposies for us!). Once we got home, she was so upset and tired, but slept for SEVEN HOURS! That was a trend that followed the whole long weekend home, but has since returned to her normal 4-5 hour stretch with waking up every 2 hours after that.

We got to spend time with pretty much everyone we wanted. The party for her was great, we had a ton of people show up! I'm so happy that our family and friends were so excited to meet her! All the work that my mom did on the back yard really paid off, I heard so many compliments on how beautiful it looked. She really did an excellent job!

We got to spend some time at Chris' parents house, which was really nice. I love seeing the baby with her grandparents (both sets!). It was so sweet to see Addy interact with her, she was SO INTERESTED! One of the evenings we were home, we went down to Lower Harbor and took in the Seafood Fest. I had some amazing crab legs, and Chris ate pizza. Yep, he ate pizza at a seafood fest. hehe! Vada got to put her toes in the grass for the first time there. She did great!

There was also an evening spent at my dad's house. It was so nice to be able to spend time with him and Suzanne! They made us a delicious meal! But the big news about there is Vada let out her first real giggle in their living room! She has had laughs like that twice since then, one was today and she laughed for such a long time...at me. I'm not sure if I'm funny looking or something, hehe!

The ride home from the UP was HORRIBLE. A drive that usually takes 7 hours took us 12! She was so upset the entire time. I'm not quite sure what the problem was, but it might have been a stomach ache. It was a really stressful ride. But, we made it home and she slept for 8 hours straight!

Since we've been home, we haven't done much. We're spending a lot of time relaxing and laying low. Yesterday, however, we went out and did some shopping. We went to the mall in Okemos and bought Vada some fall clothes (long sleeved onsies, some pants, and a sweater). We also stopped by a store that has gently used baby stuff and bought her a a jumperoo! This is the one we got, for significantly cheaper! She should be ready to use it in a few weeks. I'm so excited to see her in it!

Well, that's all for now! Enjoy the new video, it's a long one! Also, mom, I had to do it (you'll see what I mean!) I love you all, miss you all, and hope you're all well!

Vlog #3

Hey everyone! Things are going pretty well over here. Vada has had a couple of rough nights, but that's probably due to a growth spurt. When you all see her next week, she'll be HUGE! hehe! We went to MSU's Museum today, which was kind of disappointing, it was super small and only had three exhibits. There was a pretty interesting one, though, of a bunch of different quilts. Chris' mom would have really liked that one, which is why we recorded a bit of it for you all to see.

Yesterday, I got to go to lunch with two of my cousins, Kelly and Danielle, Kelly's two children, and my Aunt Lois. It was a ton of fun and I'm so glad they got to meet Vada. Kelly's kids are getting SO BIG! Her youngest, Ashton, is a total cutie pie, I could just pinch him all day.

Other than that, this week has been pretty uneventful. Vada and I have spent a lot of time looking around the apartment and "talking". She's practicing using her voice, it's really adorable. I think she's on the verge of finding her hands, too. I'm really excited for that!

I haven't been up to much stuff on my own lately. I'm really hoping to get in for a hair cut soon, but that'll probably have to wait until after we get back from our mini-vacation back home. I'm trying to grow it out for Jessica's wedding, so we'll see how that goes! Speaking of her wedding, I'm hoping to get some stuff to work on here soon from her, so Jessica, give me some work! I want to help! I'll research something, or write something, whatever you need! :)

Without further ado, here's Vada's 8 week video. I'm sorry it's so short, I seem to have forgotten to record a lot this week. Next week will be better, I promise!

Still alive!

My little girl had quite the day yesterday! Mom took her shopping at Kohl's and Target for some new duds, and she apparently slept through most of it. This is great because she rarely naps during the day but boy does she need to. Check out these cutie clothes!

Her sleep schedule has been a little wonky the past few days since getting her shots - she had a slight fever the day after and didn't sleep much. We've also been trying to go without giving her the antacid medication to see if she's still got reflux issues. The past couple of nights she's been more irritated than usual, so we've given her the medication which seems to help a lot. She must be having some heartburn or something which is keeping her awake. I'm going to call the doc today to see about refilling that prescription.

I am finally at the last day of my first week of 10's...it hasn't been easy but not incredibly hard either. The hardest part I think is trying to fit everything in once I get home. Spending time with Vada and getting some 'me' time afterwards doesn't always work out. Last night she just did not want to fall asleep. She was up till my 11pm bed time for some reason. I get to see her a bit before she's latched on to Mom for the bed-time routine, and lately I've been having to take her and put her into what I call "Daddy position": butt against my stomach, legs up to my chest, bent at the waist looking up at me. I bounce her on my stomach and walk her around the house, and it usually gets her sleepy enough to where she'll nurse with Mom and pass out. It didn't work out so well last night though. She fell asleep a bit, but kept waking herself up. I'll catch up on that 'me' time over the weekend I suppose!

Speaking of weekends; I can't wait for next weekend. We're making the journey back to Negaunee to introduce Miss V to family and friends. She hasn't met my Dad yet, or my Aunt Sue and my Grandparents. That needs to be resolved =D She'll also be meeting her mutant uncle Justin, who will hopefully be done with all of his work for his exam. Not to mention the numerous friends Cindy and I have invited to stop by!

Before I go, here's a cute picture I got from Cindy yesterday...

So much freaking hair! Love you all!

Vada Gets Jabbed

Today we had Vada's 2 month checkup appointment at the pediatrician's office. This is one of those appointments where the poor baby gets jabbed by a nurse a few times for vaccinations. We're trying to space these out a bit so she doesn't get too traumatized, and also in case she has any sort of reaction to the vaccination it will be easier to pinpoint which one was at fault.

We got in a little early for our appointment (a wizard did it) and got all of her measurements done. Here's the stats:

Weight: 10 lbs 11oz
Height: 22in
Head: 15 1/4 in circumference

She's right in the 50th percentile for head size and weight, and down in the 30th for the height. At least I don't have to worry about her playing basketball!

Then came the big wait. Cindy and I were waiting in the room for about 20 minutes just dreading that doctor coming in. Vada was very tired from being up a early this morning, so she was having a hard time. I took her for some Daddy time before the big mean doctor showed up.

Vada, of course, fell asleep. She was oblivious to the torture she was about to endure. Turns out the doctor doesn't even do the vaccination; the poor nurses get stuck doing the job! We finished our checkup, and went back to waiting. I think this time we waited only 5 minutes, but it felt more like 30.

Finally the fateful moment. Our nurse came back carrying three syringes; two with needles and one for oral delivery. We had the oral vaccine first, which is a Rotavirus vaccine. Vada's a champ with oral medication already so that one was easy. The needles were another story.

If you have kids, you know what I'm going to say here. If you don't, let me tell you something. There is no worse moment than the first time you see your child in pain. I was standing there holding her head trying to make her feel safe when the nurse began the injections. Her face went from calm to angry and scared in a flash - she turned beet red and started bawling. It was TERRIBLE. I hope it's not like this every time :( Thankfully the nurse didn't mess around and got those two shots over with quick. She had a Hepatitis B booster shot as well as a Pneumococcal Conjugate vaccine. This vaccine is to protect against blood infections, pneumonia, and meningitis.

After the nurse was done, we stayed in the room for a bit so Cindy could nurse bb Vada. She was still a little upset, but once she started nursing she chilled right out. I am so thankful that Cindy is able to provide that comfort for Vada...pacifiers and bottles just don't compare. My little girl went from inconsolable to serene in about 5 minutes. Thanks Mama!

Back at home, little Vadacakes took a good 2-hour nap to recoup from the trauma. I hung out with her for once she got up, and Cindy got these cutie pictures of her :)

I think that look on her face makes up for all that fear from earlier in the day :) Love you all, and again big thanks to Cindy for being such an awesome Mama!

Vlog #2!

Here it is, folks. Vada Video #2 (7 weeks old). Not much to update about today, we've just been hanging out at home and napping after the busy day we had yesterday. Hope you're all well!